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science fiction

I received an e-copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Detective Jason Campbell has been called to investigate a gruesome murder. A young woman has been found, murdered and disemboweled. She isn’t the first, and she isn’t human. Synthetics are human-like beings who are “born” in a lab and raised for the sole purpose of doing any number of less than desirable jobs. They are expensive, and have no rights under the law. Synthetics bleed, feel, and think but they are programmed to follow instructions and are incapable of hurting humans or other synthetics. They are property and nothing more. Detective Campbell should dismiss this case as destruction of property, at best, and move on. A mysterious source calls the detectives attention to the previous murders of other young, synthetic women, and Campbell knows that he cannot let it rest. His own history informs his decision to investigate these as serial murders, without the knowledge of his superiors, and with only a unique synthetic to offer limited assistance. His life is on the line, as he sniffs out corruption at the highest levels of society.

This book has the feel of an old detective noir film, but without the rampant sexism. Detective Campbell is an individual with layers and depth, which come to light at a steady pace. Supporting characters are few, but reasonably developed and well-rounded. Hopes for more depth and background on these characters in future books are high. Even so, the limited knowledge of these characters works with the story, as readers see it from Campbell’s perspective. He’s a bit of a loner and wouldn’t know too much about the people around him, so this makes sense. While this hampers the readers’ ability to connect to other characters, it does enhance the story to be so ensconced in the main character’s point of view.

SINthetic’s plot is primarily a wonderfully twisted mystery, with decent action sequences, and moral quandaries that will raise ire and make readers think and question what they know about humanity. The story moves quickly and makes for a fast read. There are descriptions of violence and sexual assault but they come across as detached, more like a police report, and details are scant.

A copy of this book was provided for free by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Amelia Pritchett, seventeen-year-old, has accidentally set off a chain of events that could have devastating consequences. She has accomplished something that no one has been able to do in thirty years. The floating city of Ixus, populated by some of the world’s wealthiest and well-connected citizens, has been silent since one of the worst pandemics swept the Earth’s surface three decades prior. There has been no communication and no sign of life on Ixus, despite the development of a vaccine and subsequent recovery from the disease. Those who attempted to travel there via shuttle have disappeared. Amelia’s friend and neighbor, Lars, is incredibly intelligent and gifted in engineering. He believes that he has found a way to take a shuttle to Ixus and find out what happened there. Amelia has promised to keep Lars secret, but something goes wrong. Amelia soon finds herself stranded on Ixus, all alone, and in more danger than she knows.

Novels with futuristic floating cities are not terribly uncommon, but this one stands out. The writing style flows easily and moves the story along quickly. Amelia is a teenage girl who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. With several brothers, she emphasizes on multiple occasions how capable she is of taking care of herself. For such a strong young woman, however, Amelia is placed in the role of damsel in distress a bit too often. There could be more depth to her character as well, but this was a good first introduction. The supporting characters have nuanced histories and well-rounded personalities. The villains of the story are not as complex and don’t appear to have any redeeming traits; it is made quite clear who the bad guys are and their motivations are transparent.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Amelia is in need of rescuing on multiple occasions which is quite frustrating. It seems to be a common theme in many books, shows, and movies to build a woman up as strong and powerful and then break her down to be saved by someone else (usually a male). This book has good bones and is the first in a trilogy. Hopefully, we will see the characters grow and the author will allow Amelia to be the heroine that she should be. I look forward to the next book.

Content warning: attempted sexual assault, violence, gun violence

This is the debut novel from author S.G. Meine and was released in May 2017.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Earth has colonized the moon, at long last. It runs much like a small town, under a system of domes and tunnels. The colony Artemis was established recently enough that the law and government lean toward the relaxed side. People move there in part to take advantage of some of the freedoms allowed, such as living tax-free. There are a few restrictions, such as the types of flammable items allowed, which is where Jazz Bashara comes in. The twenty-six-year-old works legally as a porter, picking items up from the station and delivering it to her clients. This also gives her a good cover for her not-so-legal side job as a smuggler. Born in Saudi Arabia, Jazz and her father have lived in Artemis for twenty years. This and her reputation as dependable and discreet have helped her land some wealthy clients. An incredible opportunity comes her way, a chance to make more money than she thought possible, and she can’t turn it down. There may be more to this job than meets the eye, and Jazz’s life may be in danger. She has to decide if the money is worth the risk.

This book was captivating from beginning to end. Jazz is an exceptional character. It was a refreshing surprise to read a science fiction novel narrated by a woman of color, especially one as dynamic as Jazz. She has complicated relationships with multiple supporting characters, and her history is revealed over time, partially through her own recollections and partly through an email exchange that progresses throughout the book. There are a variety of supporting characters, male and female, differing in race, sexuality, and socio-economic background. Several positions of power and leadership are filled with women. The diversity in this book was surprising and wonderful, particularly because the author didn’t make it into a big deal. It wasn’t the focus of the story, it just… was. Jazz has her flaws and her strengths. She’s incredibly smart, a bit flirtatious, and full of both confidence and bravado. She has integrity and depth. The plot flows nicely around the characters and keeps the reader entertained as they get to know the world of Artemis. Romance is not really featured in this book, except in Jazz’s personal history and the occasional flirtatious remark. The only improvement to be made would be in her personal relationships with women. Jazz’s closest friends are male, and the female supporting characters are on the sidelines for the majority of the book.

The colony is as much of a character as Jazz. Artemis has personality, strengths, and weaknesses, and the reader cares about what happens to her. The author does a great job of describing the science behind living on the moon, providing enough small details to seem real, without getting too technical. Readers do not need to have advanced degrees to enjoy this book.

This novel reads as a standalone but leaves room for more of Jazz’s story. I would definitely read more!

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I received an e-copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Doctor Jennifer Webb has invented a new therapeutic treatment, which utilizes proprietary virtual reality technology to help people heal psychological injuries. Clients are placed in special pods, induced to deep sleep, and given carefully monitored injections. Technicians run a dream-like scenario through the VR program, which the client experiences as reality. Each scenario is tailored to the client, to help resolve their specific issues.

Esther Hoffman is a journalist who has made her career by debunking pseudo-science. Due to tragic circumstances in her own past, involving fraudulent regression therapy, Esther is out to prove that Doctor Webb’s work is phony at best; at worst it could be dangerous. Jennifer is determined to prove the safety and viability of her therapy and Esther reluctantly agree to go through the process, to experience it firsthand. Things do not exactly go as planned, in either reality.

This is a novella written by Mira Grant, which is the pseudonym of best-selling author Seanan Maguire. Its length does not diminish the horror aspects, thankfully. Readers get just enough insight into the main characters to care about their fates. Industrial espionage, murder, and supernatural elements mingle to make a perfectly horrifying tale. The science behind the therapy is explained in a way that feels natural and easy to understand, which is not always the case in science fiction. There are several delightful twists, and the ending is unexpected perfection. Seanan Maguire has also written the Newsflesh trilogy, a horror series, under the Mira Grant pseudonym.

Andrew “Ender” Wiggin is a very special little boy. At the age of six years old, he is selected to attend “battle school,” an academy for children and pre-teens believed to have innate gifts for strategy and warfare. The planet Earth is at war with a race of aliens nicknamed the “Buggers.” Ender’s the third child in his family, only allowed to be born because his brother Peter was too cruel for battle school and his sister Valentine was too passive. The high-ranking adults of the world think Ender may have the gifts necessary to save the world. In fact, it seems like they’re betting on it.

Once in the battle school, Ender is quickly isolated and pitted against the other students (mostly boys) in the school. The leaders at hand are seeking to make him a leader. He’s a tactical genius who tries to be civil but is ultimately suspicious of anyone who tries to be friendly. Against all odds, Ender gains friends among those the school leaders would deem his subordinates. He grows and develops skills. But he’s soon promoted to higher ranks, reinforcing just how much he is ruled by the adults around him. On the outside, Peter and Valentine are hatching their own plans to help the world… which may or may not involve Ender.

I did my very best to enjoy this book (which I consumed in audiobook format), but all in all the exposition blended in too much with the dialogue. Characters blended together, their speech often sounding the same. The book fell into the unfortunate science fiction stereotype of having too much action and not enough character development for the action to feel meaningful. There were few instances where Ender, his classmates, and siblings actually spoke as if they were the ages they were prescribed. Even genius children still sound like children. I would only recommend this book to those seeking to know more about a science fiction classic. But for someone looking to learn more about science fiction, I would advise them to stay away from Ender’s Game. It will leave you apathetic to Ender and the plight of his world.

In a far off future, sports are just as competitive as they are now. Though through technology and synthetic enhancements, competition is much different. Michael is a cubeball champion. The future version of snooker is taken very seriously. After spending time as a world champion and becoming a well known celebrity, Michael has had enough of the life. He takes his wealth and moves to the outpost on Mars. Ten years later, his money dwindling, he has decided to return home to Earth.

This is an interesting sci-fi sports story. The book tends to jump back and forth through time. You get to see how Michael grew up and became a champion cubeball player, while also staying with him in real time as he makes his way through the world. The author has created an interesting world. It is a believable future that is not hard to imagine. The characters are interesting and plausible.

This book does at times fall prey to one of the pitfalls of science fiction writing. There is much time spent on the description of technologies, yet they never fully make sense or capture the attention as much as they could if the specifics were a bit more glossed over so the reader can focus more on the story. Though this was not as bad as it is in many other novels, I was able to get into the story.

Ludwig was the character that actually captured my interest the most in this story. The way the savant was written intrigued me and I enjoyed his interactions with Michael. He was an easier to like character than the often brash Michael. Overall, the story was good and I would consider reading more in this series.

Medea and Jason have never met before. Of course they haven’t met; she is merely a stakeholder in the major corporation turned ecosystem/city that is Argos, while Jason is a shareholder. The corporation runs everything. In a world where nearly all of the jobs are run by artificially intelligent robots Madea just happens to have a unique and valuable talent for being able to manipulate genes, known as genomancy, in order to give people special traits. She works for the corporation’s warriors, known as the Argonauts, giving them whatever attributes they wish. She can give them a bear’s strength, fur, and claws, or even a fish’s gills and ability to swim. Where her heart truly lies though, is with the work she is allowed to do for the poor stakeholders of Argos. She can fix a little girl’s stutter, or remove the genes prone to cancer. But despite her talent, and her enviable possession of one of the few remaining jobs still done by people, she gets no respect. Especially not from the warriors, who refuse to acknowledge her importance to their accomplishments, and not from Jason when they meet for the first time.

Jason, unlike Medea, is a shareholder; rich, powerful, and most importantly he has a voice in the management vote for the CEO of Argos. This is of particular significance to Pelias, the current CEO. When Jason’s father Aeson dies of the overindulgences that are often thrown at shareholders to keep them happy, Jason finds an unexpected opportunity. He has always wanted to join the Argonauts, but with an unsupportive father his dream never came true. Now, with a CEO who is salivating over the opportunity to get his hands on Jason’s shares, and most importantly his votes, he is going to get his dream. Jason though, wants nothing to do with Medea. He has spent his entire life honing himself into the perfect warrior, and he believes that what she does is nothing more than a way to cheat. Medea is none too happy about being forced along on Jason’s first mission, either. But the two of them realize quickly that they have to find a common ground, as one thing after another goes wrong on their mission to Colchis. They have been sent to the competing corporation’s city in search of the golden fleece; a data bank of genetic information that just may change the rules of genomancy forever.

I think it is beneficial that I was not aware of the specific details of Jason and Medea’s story before reading this book. I knew enough of the basics so that I could understand when the author was pulling in recognizable places and characters from the original story. But the distinctive twists on those elements made it like a whole new story for me. Kneupper weaves the classic Greek elements into a fascinating new world in which many of the current world’s fears, and dreams, about the future are essentially realized. All the jobs have been taken over by robots, nobody works so the government has to give out a basic minimum to each person, while the corporations that run everything constantly compete to convince people to invest their basic minimum with them. Gene therapy has leapt forwarded to the ability to change people’s genes almost however they want, and extend lives. This makes for a really interesting setting in which the story takes place. The characters, while recognizable, do lack in growth and tend towards the one dimensional. The romance between the two characters was bit hurried, and the secondary characters were underutilized. Overall, though, I liked this book. Despite my choice to rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars I would recommend it for an interesting and entertaining read.